RTRS: Emerging-Markets Stocks, Currencies Advance on Aid for Greece
By Shiyin Chen
April 12 (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market stocks and currencies rose as a rescue package for Greece offset concerns China will step up efforts to curb property speculation.
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index gained 0.2 percent to 1,045.71 as of 1:02 p.m. in Singapore, extending last week’s 1.5 percent rally, after European governments offered Greece a package worth as much as 45 billion euros ($61 billion). The Philippine peso and South Korea’s won led Asian currencies higher on speculation the plan will spur demand for developing- nation assets.
“The loan to Greece will address the market’s concerns about a possible default scenario, which really takes some risk off the table,” said Ahmad Zubaidi Samse, a currency trader at Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur.
Cnooc Ltd. and Zijin Mining Group Co. rose more than 0.6 percent on higher oil and metal prices. Gemdale Corp. dropped 5 percent after the Chinese property developer reported a slump in sales and the banking regulator said some lenders have raised down-payment requirements for mortgages. Thailand’s SET Index tumbled 4.2 percent as clashes between soldiers and protestors escalated.
South Korea’s won rose to as high as 1,111.38 per dollar, the strongest level since September 16, 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Korean economy will expand 5.2 percent in 2010, the Bank of Korea said today, compared with a December forecast for growth of 4.6 percent. The peso gained to the highest level in 20 months, India’s rupee strengthened to a 19-month high and Malaysia’s ringgit rose to a 23-month high.
Euro-region finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund yesterday pledged to provide three-year loans with a rate of about 5 percent, compared with 6.98 percent on Greek three-year securities.
Commodity Rally
The plan helped crude oil prices gain 0.5 percent to $85.34 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, snapping three days of losses. Copper also climbed to the highest since 2008, while gold rose to a four-month high.
Cnooc, China’s largest offshore oil producer, added 0.6 percent to HK$14.04 in Hong Kong. Zijin Mining, the nation’s largest gold producer, advanced 1.5 percent to HK$6.67.
Gemdale slid 5 percent to 12.93 yuan, set for the biggest loss since Jan. 26. Apartment sales fell 27 percent to 1.2 billion yuan in March from a year earlier and first-quarter sales slumped 40 percent, the company said on April 9 after the market closed.
Chairman Liu Mingkang said yesterday the China Banking Regulatory Commission has told lenders to report on their risk exposure to borrowers the end of June. Some Beijing banks have “voluntarily and prudently” raised down-payment requirements for second mortgages to 60 percent of a property’s value, the regulator said, elaborating on Liu’s comments. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. declined 0.8 percent to 4.93 yuan.
Thailand’s benchmark index was poised for its largest loss since Oct. 15 after a clash between soldiers and protestors left as many as 21 people dead. Advanced Info Service Pcl, the nation’s largest mobile-phone company, lost 4.6 percent to 78.75 baht.